ATLANTA -- This month, millions of kids begin their summer breaks, looking forward to vacations, pool time and carefree days. But studies and experience show a lack of mental stimulation causes them to unlearn much of what they were taught over the school year. Boys & Girls Clubs across the country offer young people a safe, exciting place to spend their summer months, with staff and resources to fight the effects of this “Summer Brain Drain.”

The reality for today’s kids is that many will find themselves with few structured activities, caregivers who are working all day, and too much unsupervised television, video game and computer time.

President Touts Concerns Over Summer Learning

Also known as “summer learning loss” or the “summer slide,” this issue is a growing problem for American children. In 2010, President Obama noted, “Students are losing a lot of what they learn during the school year during the summer.”

Gateway to College Academy was named a Graduation Alert School, the Georgia Department of Education announced Thursday. Graduation Alert Schools are high schools where the subgroup graduation rate falls at or below the third standard deviation compared to the statewide subgroup average.

Additionally, Idlewood Elementary School, Jolly Elementary School and Woodward Elementary School were named Subgroup Alert Schools, meaning that their subgroup performances on a statewide assessment falls at or below the third deviation compared to the subgroup's state average.

The board voted 6-1 to make the cuts after the new superintendent, Cheryl Atkinson, commissioned an analysis of how many jobs were needed within the county's 135 schools and centers, compared to student enrollment.

The lost jobs will be school-based positions -- meaning they don't include administration jobs. The school system says another analysis is in the works that will cut jobs in the superintendent's office.

"That's still being worked out," said school system spokesman Walter Woods. "This is another reform that we're making district wide, looking at every position throughout the district."

The current round of job cuts will include each of 37 employees categorized as "graduation coaches and graduation specialists."

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Seven employees of the DeKalb County School District might have to pay back a total of about $47,500 in overpayments discovered during an employee verification process.

School officials issued an alert on Saturday with results of the report, which started in February.

Two of the employees have left the district, five others were on leave.

The district's legal affairs office will now work to recover any unearned payments.

The survey of 15,000 employees also identified 148 non-verified employees, mostly substitute teachers or part-time coaches. The district stopped payments to them beginning with the April 13 pay period.

Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Atkinson ordered the process in February, along with an independent audit of Central Office and school-based personnel.

Dr. Atkinson said it's part of a move to shrink the Central Office and drive more resources to schools and classrooms.